At the close of the third day at Lord’s, Tim Southee accused Shubman Gill of double standards, as the India captain was seen involved in a fiery moment with England opener Zak Crawley as Crawley twice pulled away from his stance when Jasprit Bumrah was ready to bowl. The cameras were on Gill, who was seen mouthing something towards Crawley’s direction as well.

Moreover, when Zak Crawley called for the physio after getting hit on his finger off the fourth ball, Indian players walked over in unison, clapping with sarcasm. Tim Southee, who is now serving as a specialist skills coach, slammed what he saw and called it as hypocrisy, pointing to Gill himself receiving treatment for his back in the middle of Day 2 as well.

“It’s always exciting to see both sides animated towards the end,” Southee said at the end of the day’s play. “I’m not sure what they were complaining about when Shubman Gill was lying down getting a massage in the middle of the day yesterday. It’s obviously part of the game when you’re near the end of the day. It’s an exciting way to finish the day.”

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Tim Southee also said that Zak Crawley would be “assessed overnight” for his blow to the finger, before saying that the series had been played in good spirits.

“Both sides have played some good cricket and in a good spirit, and tonight was just a bit of energy towards the end of the day,” he said. “It’s been a long three days, and it was good to see the energy still there from both sides.”

KL Rahul, meanwhile, explained the late-evening scenes, saying about Crawley’s instinct, even as India pushed hard for a breakthrough as well.

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“What happened at the end is just part of the game now,” he said. “I understand from an opening batter’s point of view. I know exactly what was going on, and everyone knows exactly what was going on. But an opening batter will understand completely what happened in the last five minutes.”

“We wanted to bowl two overs. There were six minutes left. It is a no-brainer that any team will bowl two overs with six minutes to go, but it was a bit of theatrics at the end. We know how difficult it is for a batter to come to bat for two overs when you’ve been in the field all day. A wicket at the end of the day’s play would’ve been perfect for us. Tomorrow, even without that, I think we would’ve been fired up anyway,” he concluded.